Androinica.com scours the Android Market each week, looking for what’s new, what’s hot, and what’s been updated. At the end of the week, we take a look back at the changes made to the Android Market in a weekly wrap-up that we like to call Android Apps Alert.

The apps we cover may not always be compatible with your phone or tablet, but it’s a good start to finding what to load on your Dream Android device. This week’s theme is Comics, Calls, and Games because that’s the easiest way to describe what we covered. Take a look and follow the links to go the Android Market.

Viber

Android 2.0 or higher required

Viber lets users make free VoIP calls to other Viber members. It’ also lets you send free text messages. No ads, no hidden fees, just free communication with others. I don’t know how they plan to sustain that long term, but it’s at least available now. Calls are only free to other Viber members, but with more than 100,000 downloads in 3 days and millions of existing iPhone users, I’m guessing you’ll find plenty of people to talk to soon. The cool thing about Viber is that it uses existing phone numbers to identify friends, so you don’t have to worry about usernames. Call quality isn’t half bad, either. Your monthly minutes shouldn’t be affected but it may count towards your data usage.

DC Comics

Android 2.1 or higher required

How fitting that DC Comics would release its official Android app in the middle of the summer blockbuster season and as thousands of fans convene in San Diego for ComicCon this weekend. The DC Comics app is built on top of Comixology, so users of that app will feel comfortable navigating DC’s version. Fans of titles like Batman, Deadshot, and Young Justice can purchase digital copies of comics (several free issues are available also). Comics are organized in featured sections, new additions, and popularity, but you can search through the library as well. DC Comics then makes reading easy with pinch-to-zoom on phones and a large, swipe-friendly view on tablets.

Hockey Fights

Android 2.1 or higher required

Are you not big on hockey but a fan of the fighting that occurs between skating and shooting? Check out the Android game Hockey Fights. As the implies, Hockey Fights is built entirely around two hockey players fighting in an enclosed space. Two players lock-up and trade blows through combination attacks. Users must also defend themselves and conserve energy to make sure they are left standing when an attack occurs. Gameplay isn’t the most enthralling but the challenge increases in tournaments. Players can earn upgrades for their fighters and the close quarters makes for a different approach to the fighting genre. Give the lite version a try and upgrade to the paid version to remove ads.

Green Farm

Android 2.2 or higher required

Gameloft has a reputation of building mobile games that liberally borrowing from popular console or desktop games. The latest such game is Green Farm, a mobile version of the Farmville knockoff Gameloft created for Facebook. The difference here is that there’s no connection to the desktop; players will have to cultivate new lands from scratch. Green Farm is a farming game in which users plant crops, raise livestock, and develop uses for the land, products, or services of the farm. That will earn coins necessary for growth. I’m no fan of the digital farming genre, but those who are can customize their game experience and take on missions to increase the fun.

Contour Viewfiender

Contour Hardware camera required
Android 2.1 or higher required

Contour is a company that produces HD cameras for extreme use or high mobility. This week, the company released a new app that serves as a Viewfinder for a Contour camera, allowing users to see what kind of footage will be captured. Someone could mount a Contour camera on a helmet or desk, preview the shot, and then initiate recording. The app can even control microphone gain level, quality and framerate settings, lighting, and even monitor battery or memory usage. The only drawback is that you must have a Contour camera for this to be useful, but anyone who does should check this out.

3 Comments

Viber is nice, but I'd like to have the option to send messages through it and have the recipient get it without needing to use Viber too, as if they were just receiving a regular text… My recent post Android Open Source Project!!!